It was such a long time since I took a full 1-star course.  After starting work, my weekends are so so precious.  

The much-awaited Sat/Sun after 5 working days is a relief from facing the kiddos, piles of marking etc etc…

However, I do enjoy the feeling of going out to sea, bobbing up and down on the waves, feeling the sun burn up my skin (dang! my pores!) and smelling the saltish seawater!

There is the responsibility of looking after 7 – 9 participants but I think the key is to be in control of the situation and not expose the group to dangers which I cannot manage.  Like staying near to shore when the wind/ current is too strong and not paddling too far when there are slower participants in the group.

There’s a sense of achievement in bringing the proficiency of my participants up from being wobbly, unstable on a kayak and not being able to paddle straight to having the confidence of chasing after the waves!

=)

The clock ticks and time seems to just drain away like the sand in an hourglass, difference is, you can never flip the hourglass to allow time to flow again.  

The daunting part of this is not that you can’t find back the time which has passed by but rather, not knowing what is in store for you in the future.

Many things you do can impact on what the future turns out to be.  Yet, many things also lie out of your control as the future remains unpredictable, unfathomable.

Sometimes, I worry about what’s going to happen but I know worrying is just a waste of time because it’s not going to help things very much anyway.  I still worry though, it is just me.

I am afraid to have dreams and expectations because what if things doesn’t turn out the way I wished it to be?  It is easier to be contented with a lower benchmark.  BUT, I still harbour secret dreams and wishes as HOPEs do motivate me to go on.

Bumming around during my midyear break, I realised and concluded that there are several things which I can’t do without…

1) Internet!!!

I am not a very techy person but strangely though, I have been on the information highway ever since the era of “oh oh!” – the ICQ.  IRC didn’t appeal to me then because I did not like the idea of chatting with strangers.  I prefer to chat with people I know from my list of contacts. 

The internet offers me links to my friends via IM and FB and earlier on, friendster where we can upload photos and updates about oneself.   I don’t do it often but browsing my friends’ photos keeps me updated about what went on in their lives.  And msn keeps me in contact with my friends wherever in the world they may be.  *winkz*

There’s loads of entertainment online too.  Maintaining a MMORPG player is too much of a hassle and time consuming thus my Maple Story character is in limbo right now.  It’s fun building up and training the character and collecting various items on the way but it became so repetitive and difficult to level up that I gave up the game after a while.  I like playing brainless “clickclick” games on miniclip like sushi-go-round and flatbread express or even jigsaw puzzles!  Online versions… yep…

Then, I was introduced to the world of online shopping *glittering eyes*… I can shop 24/7, in the comforts of my home, at weird hours of the day, by myself and usually the clothes are modeled!  Woa… I love shopping… The drawback is… paying by IB, I tend not to see how much I had spent.  Pretty dangerous. 

2) Cable TV

I am such a tv worm~!  But I love cable!  With the numberof channels available, there’s bound to be something which appeals to me.  I like to watch science documentarys, about science, animals, the planet, how things are made etc etc.  I like to watch reality tv – survivor.  I like entertainment programmes.  I try not to get hooked on drama serials though.  Chasing serials is quite a torture – you want to follow the development of the story but yet there are times when you are engaged outside like having a dinner date etc…

3)  The National Library

Free entertainment from all the books available.  I am also an avid reader… =P

Yeah… 3 things I can’t do without for the time being…. of course I can’t live without this very impt person but i think he knows it le so I dun need to spell it out here….. =P

There’s a tendency for couples to behave like siamese twins, stuck together and doing things in twos.

I am guilty of choosing my bf over my friends and prefering being in twos rather in a group, sometimes.

Well, for one, I am totally comforty and relaxed in his company and I know I can have my way (most of the time) about where to go, what to eat etc.  It is also much easier to decide the itinerary for 2 rather than to take in the consideration of a group of people.  Not to mention that as a couple, our likes and dislikes are more or less made known to the other party already so that makes making decisions slightly faster.  It is much more convenient to meet up and you don’t spend a lot of time waiting for people to turn up or simple move from one place to the other.  I can have full attention from my bf!  =)

However, there is also funbeing in a group.  Like there will be more crappy people around to lighten the mood, more entertainment from different people.  It helps to have more diversed opinions when the group has no idea what to do next.  Your friends may also bring you to places which you will never go on your own.  In addition, I find that I can learn a lot from listening to other people’s experience.  That’s why in a group I choose to listen more than to talk, I am a very shy person… *blush*  =P

But, what happens when bf is not in town?  What happens if everyone is attached and married? 

It’s already getting difficult to meet up with our different schedules.  Now to put in their partner’s schedule as well makes things even more complicated at times.

I think I will resolve to be more participative in my girls’ gatherings regardless whether my bf is in town or not…. But but but….. I will also spend LOADs of time with my bf lah!!! haha…..

I have a room by myself and it’s filling up with so much junk that I do not know how to begin clearing them out!

Ok, “junk” sounds so rubbishy.  They are more of my “sentimental junk”.  Notes and letters from my secondary school days, even my literature textbooks (I don’t know why I like them but I thought nice to keep, 6 little books in a set), etc etc…

I have a lot of t-shirts, especially CCA ones.  They are full of memories that I simply can’t bring myself to throw them away.

Today I started with sorting out my wardrobe.  Since I have been rather active shopping nowadays, I realise that I need more space in my closet for my new clothes.  Thus I decided to stock check and dispose those pieces which I don’t wear anymore.

Those which are very very old, I dumped into the recylcing plastic bag for the people to collect for recycling.

There a a few pieces which are bought but seldom worn by me and still appear quite new, I passed them to my sister to wear, sell off on her website.

I was in some dilemna over my old jeans.  Tattered at the hem but still wearable, just that the design may be a bit “old-fashion” already.  After some deliberation, I decide to throw them away and just fall backon my Levis now.

I discovered may caps also.  Into the recycling bag went those which were not worn anymore and look older than me.  However, I couldn’t resist and kept some event caps, like NY ones, crested ones, OB lumut one…. 

I wonder what would I do with everything if one day I decide to move house…

I think my job has made me rather adversed to taking risk.  

This refers to the people I am handling, not myself.

Compared with dealing secondary school teens and the older JC and tertiary guys, handling primary school kiddos is a totally different ball game altogether.  Not forgetting to mention that the older and more mature group had been a disciplined lot too.  

I could give the older group more autonomy in carrying out their duties and really act as a facilitator in the activity itself, guiding the guys to the right direction, providing assistance now and then.  There was more chances for me to step back from the group.

With kiddos of 9 and 10 years of age, the level of guidance given made me feel like I am the over-aged leader of the pack sometimes.  I cannot just facilitate but have to even start teaching on the spot due to the lack of knowledge to complete a task.  And… I have to be the bouncer to quell any fights or quarrels that may arise.  

Upon reflection, the change that I noticed in myself is the adversity to risk that the people that I am handling is exposed to.  To make sure that accidents are down to a minimum, my critical eye often pick out activities, environment that are potentially hazardous.

I can choose to put a stop to the activity but… am I then becoming overprotective?  

Sometimes we do learn through our falls and some hard knocks to drill the sense into our heads.

Where to draw the line?  Hmm….

Went down to town to collect toh’s race pack for the sundown marathon although he wouldn’t be running in it.  Well, not to waste the registration fee so see what’s there to scavenge from the goody bag!

The fruits of my labour (in travelling to town but took the 577 bus which was more expensive but direct from my house to suntec so saved me the trouble of switching bus/MRT and there was plenty of seats on the bus) wasn’t from the goody bag but rather “accidental” pickups on my way home.

After eating my lunch, FF again as my new rationale to justify my FF diet is that I can hold a burger and a book with both my hands at the same time, I decided not to take the same bus back but walk to the MRT instead.  I think FF allows me to read while eating, mush easier than a bowl of rice or noodles.

So, along the way, I realised the GSS (Great Singapore Sale) is on!  The 4-letter word lured me into several of the shops along the way to the MRT and tadaa!!! I bought a pair of shorts from adidas and a pair of shoes from mphosis (couldn’t resist, 50% discount!)  Saw a pair of pants but didn’t fit so had to let it go reluctantly as there was a 50% discount on it too… *sobz*

I love shopping!